


Please Don't Take Her Away From Me

by AlexaNDYE



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bruce Banner - Freeform, F/M, Natasha Romanoff - Freeform, Okoye - Freeform, Shuri - Freeform, Thor - Freeform, nebula - Freeform, rocket - Freeform, steve rogers - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2018-04-29
Packaged: 2019-04-29 15:03:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14475249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexaNDYE/pseuds/AlexaNDYE
Summary: Infinity War Spoilers.Tony is worried that Pepper suffered the same fate as half the universe and searches for her.





	Please Don't Take Her Away From Me

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry I wrote this.
> 
> I promise to create some fluffy Pepperony soon. The Infinity War movie has gotten me all sad, and I feel bad for writing something worthy of Satan.
> 
> Also, I'm sorry about the New Year's Resolution lol. It didn't last very long, did it?
> 
> I should just go back to writing smut.
> 
> All this angst is making me sad.

Tony wasn’t sure what was going on at the time. All he could hear were Peter’s pleading words in his head as Nebula ran off to try to scrap together a ship from what she could find around the wasteland known as Titan, Thanos’ home planet.

 

Nebula wasn’t sure where Thanos went, nor did she know what was happening, but the fact that people turned to dust meant that Thanos fulfilled his destiny and she didn’t want to stick around for the aftermath had he decided to come back to finish the job.

 

Tony was kneeled in front of the ashes of Peter Parker. He was distraught and in disbelief. His eyes began to water as Peter’s pleading grew louder and louder. It was almost piercing.

 

_“No, no, no… I don’t… I don’t want to… Please—help me! Mr. Stark, please—I don’t want to go… please… Tony…”_

 

He grabbed his head and tried to fight the voice, but guilt was swelling up inside and he was beginning to lose his sanity.

 

And then he felt a hard kick to his thigh.

 

“Hey.” Nebula kicked him again. “Hey!” Her angry and deepened voice threw him back into reality.

 

He stared up at her in confusion.

 

Nebula was trying to gather as much sympathy as possible. She was never good at emotions or feelings.

 

“I couldn’t find any working parts to get a ship together, but I found Quill’s ship. It’s not too far from here, and it’s our only way off this place,” she told him bluntly.

 

Tony wiped his eyes with one swipe of his sleeve and sniffed a few times. He forced himself to fight back the emotions that had already burrowed into his heart. He was torn inside, but he had to be strong. While it was the only way, Dr. Strange talked of victory and the ‘end game’. Whatever that was, it needed to be relayed to whomever else was alive.

 

“Earth,” Tony replied.

 

Nebula stared at him as he stood up and watched the ashes of the fallen get carried away by a passing breeze.

 

He clutched at his side that he temporarily bandaged with little salve he had left in his nanitte suit, and started limping off to the left. “We have to go to Earth.”

 

Nebula didn’t move from her spot. “The ship is the other way.”

 

Tony stopped, grumbled under his breath, and then began limping the other way.

 

\---

 

Bruce, Nat, Steve, and Rhodey were all silent as they were gathered in Shuri’s lab.

 

“Bucky… Sam…” Steve muttered in anguish and shook his head.

 

“And Wanda and Vision…” Nat’s arms were crossed against her chest and her head was lowered.

 

“And my brother.” Shuri said as she limped towards the last remaining Avengers. She wore a pained expression filled with sorrow and grief. Okoye walked towards her and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, sharing the same sorrow filled expression.

 

Rhodey rubbed his chin in deep thought. “What about Tony? Has anyone heard from him?”

 

Bruce shrugged. “Last I heard from him was when he jumped onto that giant metal donut. After that… nothing. I’ve tried contacting him, but...”

 

“Shit…” Rhodey cursed under his breath. “…For all we know, he’s—“

 

“Let’s try not to jump to any conclusions,” Steve interjected. “We don’t know for sure that he’s gone. Same goes for everyone else that’s not in this room. Let’s think positive and find a way—“

 

“Think positive?” Okoye stared at Steve in disbelief. “Half the Wakanda army was turned into dust. _Your friends_ were turned to dust. _Our King_ was turned to dust,” she began to shout. “And you want us to think positive!?”

 

“There has to be something we can do,” Steve shook off the negative thoughts. “There… there has to be something…” He frowned as his optimism began to dissolve. “Something… anything…” He heard Bucky’s voice in his head. _“Steve…?”_ He balled his fists and let the anger rise.

 

One of the Wakandian soldiers ran into the room. “Shuri, Okoye! An unknown ship is headed straight for Wakanda.”

 

Everyone looked at each other in confusion, curiosity, and fear.

 

“Are they back to finish what they started?” Bruce asked worriedly.

 

Rhodey’s phone began to vibrate and ring in his pocket. He pulled it out and stared at a picture of a smug man. He immediately accepted the call and pressed the phone to his ear. “Tony?”

 

“Hey Rhodey… Could someone open the door for us?” Tony replied weakly.

 

\---

 

“I’m confused,” Bruce said to everyone else. “Is… Is that raccoon talking to that purple woman?”

 

“You’ve seen the video of the raccoon riding a tricycle, but you’ve never seen one interact with people before?” Rhodey replied.

 

“No, I have.” Bruce furrowed his eyebrows at the creature. “Just not the kind of raccoons that can talk.”

 

“Where in the world did you come from?” Rocket asked as he watched Nebula walk out of the ship.

 

“Hell,” Nebula responded in a dark tone.

 

Tony winced in pain as he limped off the ship with his hand covering his bloody wound. He walked towards the familiar faces whose expressions clearly painted the situation. They lost; they were defeated, beat up, and stuck against a wall that couldn’t be penetrated. And none of them had a clue what to do next.

 

Rhodey approached Tony and helped him walk the rest of the way.

 

Rocket looked up at the crowd and read their guarded expressions. “You guys seem confused. It’s like you’ve never seen a talking alien and a cybernetic humanoid before.”

 

“Who are you guys, exactly?” Steve asked sternly.

 

“I’m Rocket. This is Nebula.” He pointed to the Luphomoid Assassin. “She’s one of Thanos’ daughters.”

 

Steve instantly balled his fists and stepped forward in a threatening manner. “What?” Nat also stepped forward, and Bruce stepped back.

 

“I’d rather not be associated with him,” Nebula replied flatly as she brushed off the threatening looks from the others.

 

“She’s got daddy issues,” Rocket whispered to them.

 

“Keep talking you rat and I’ll cut off your tongue,” Nebula growled at Rocket.

 

Rocket ignored her off. He looked around, and then back at the ship before a frown settled on his face. “Hey, wait… where’s Quill… and Mantis, and Drax —No, don’t tell me they’re…”

 

Nebula looked away and closed her eyes as she struggled with her sympathetic emotions.

 

\---

 

“Are you okay?” Rhodey asked Tony. “What happened to you?”

 

Tony shook his head. “Long story.” He looked over at the crowd that was talking to Rocket and Nebula. “This is everyone?”

 

“That we’re aware of,” Rhodey replied.

 

Tony sighed and then hissed in pain. “Shit…”

 

“You need to get that looked at.”

 

“What I need… is a drink, preferably scotch—“ He stopped and let his eyes wander. “—Rhodey.”

 

“Huh?”

 

Tony’s voice was starting to crack. “Please tell me you’ve heard from Pepper.”

 

Rhodey shook his head. “I haven’t.”

 

Tony pushed off of him and put on the blue tinted sunglasses that were in his jacket pocket. “Friday, call Pepper.”

 

“Calling.”

 

“Tony—“ Rhodey tried to get him to calm down. “Stop. You’re injured. You can go find her after you get looked at and taken care of. I’ll even go with you—“

 

Tony ignored him.

 

“She’s not answering, Sir,” Friday replied.

 

“Call her again,” Tony grounded out. As the ringing began again, he pleaded under his breath. “Please pick up, Pep… Please…”

 

“She’s not—“ Friday was interrupted.

 

“Get a GPS coordinate on her phone’s location. Now.” Within a blink, he was being wrapped around whatever nano-parts were left in the arc reactor housing unit in the middle of his chest.

 

“Tony…” Rhodey grounded out. “Tony!”

 

Tony launched into the sky before Rhodey could do anything to stop him.

 

\---

 

“GPS location found.” Friday announced as Tony saw a blimp on the map on his HUD.

 

“Put more energy in the boosters,” he demanded.

 

“There are not enough nano-parts to do that,” Friday replied.

 

Tony cursed under his breath as he grew more anxious.

 

When he arrived at the marker on his map, he slowed down to look at his surroundings. There was nothing but ash on the streets and the sidewalks. He began to feel physical pain from his heart as the streets were silent.

 

He landed near the marker and let the nano-parts flow back into the arc reactor. He was drowned in silence with every step he took.

 

“You are three steps away from the location,” Friday announced.

 

There was no one around. There was ash. There was the sound of wind. There were no screams of fear or confused murmurs. There was absolutely no word of civilization.

 

With each second that passed, breathing became harder for him. He took one last step and was forced to open his mouth to breathe. He breathed harder and harder, and suddenly collapsed to his knees.

 

He sobbed to himself and tore the sunglasses from his face and threw it on the ground. The glasses faced the pile of ashes in front of him and in that pile of ashes was the GPS marker he was searching for.

 

His hands shook uncontrollably as he slowly sifted through the ashes in front of him. The dream he had the other night, about the family he was going to start with Pepper, was slowly dissolving into nothing.

 

His fingers found her phone and when he turned it on, he saw endless notifications of missed calls from her family, and lastly from him. And then he saw the background picture on her phone; it was a picture of them.

 

He remembered that day; she wanted to take a picture of themselves, but he didn’t like taking pictures, so at the last second, he turned his head away from her camera and kissed the top of her head.

 

He pressed the phone to his forehead and began to cry in anguish. The walls he built to contain his emotions crumbled under the weight. He became emotionally and physically unstable as the lives of the lost clouded his judgement and destroyed his sanity.

 

“No… Please no…” He pleaded repeatedly. “No, no, no, no, no…” Tears rolled down his cheeks and his grip on Pepper’s phone tightened. His face turned red and his knuckles turned white. His emotions were pouring out of his body, and slowly but surely, he was beginning to lose his mind and what little hope he had left.

 

“Tony?”

 

It was her voice albeit a bit muffled. He instantly opened his eyes and looked in front of him. There was no one. Was he truly going insane? He slowly regained his composure.

 

“Tony?”

 

This time, her voice sounded clearer, and it sounded like it was coming from behind. He turned around and saw Pepper, unharmed, confused, and in shock.

 

He stood up and stared at her in disbelief. “Pepper?” He ignored the pain that was blossoming on his side and walked towards her. He instantly pulled her in for a hug, making her gasp in surprise.

 

“Oh god, Pepper…” He gasped. “I… I thought…”

 

She squeezed her eyes shut, and hugged him back tightly. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

 

He pulled away and handed her phone to her. “I tried calling you… I thought the worst… I thought you were gone.”

 

She cupped his face with her hands and wiped away the trails of tears below his eyes. He brought his hand up to cover hers and stroked the back of her hand with his thumb, and she smiled warmly. He didn’t want to let her out of his sight, or forget the feeling of her skin against his. He hung onto her as he was worried she was only a dream.

 

Her smile went away when she realized how much ash was in the streets. “Everyone was scared,” she began. “People started turning into ash and then everyone started screaming. I was going to call you or Rhodey or Happy, but before I could, a man grabbed my hand and begged me to help him. He begged and begged, and then he… disappeared.” Her bottom lip started to quiver.

 

She let out a shaky breath. “I was scared, and I guess I dropped my phone.” She paused to gather her thoughts as she relived the unforgettable moment. “I-I thought I was next. But I wasn’t… and… I watched everyone…” She couldn’t finish her sentence.

 

Tony pulled her in for another hug and comforted her. “I’m sorry, Pepper. I’m so sorry.”

 

\---

 

“You couldn’t wait to get it looked at before you flew off?” Pepper asked Tony disappointedly as one of the Wakandian medical specialists were looking at the wound he suffered from Thanos.

 

He pouted. “We’ve been over this, Pepper. I was worried about you.”

 

She rolled her eyes. “It could’ve gotten infected.”

 

“It’s not, though,” Tony replied.

 

“It still could be,” the Wakandian doctor said nonchalantly.

 

Tony turned to the doctor. “Not helping my case.”

 

“My apologies,” the doctor replied. He took out a roll of what looked like gauze, but neither Pepper or Tony knew for sure. He stripped the cloth off of something adhesive and applied it directly on top of the wound. “This will heal your wound a hundred times faster than humanly possible, so it will take a day or two until you feel fully healed. It will dissolve into your skin when its job is complete and reinforce the area in case you suffer from the same wound a second time.”

 

Tony stared at the doctor in awe and then shared the same expression with Pepper. They both turned to the doctor.

 

“What exactly is this?” Tony asked.

 

“Special medical Wakandian technology, courtesy of myself,” a female voice replied from the threshold of the medial room.

 

The doctor bowed his head to Shuri, and Shuri dismissed him with a nod. The doctor left without another word.

 

“Shuri… correct?” Pepper asked.

 

Shuri nodded. “And you are Pepper Potts. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She turned to look at Tony. “And it is also a pleasure to meet such a fascinating scientist such as yourself, Mr. Stark.”

 

Tony was too busy poking at the strip of cloth on his side to respond to her. “This is incredible.”

 

Pepper elbowed him. He stared at Shuri in amazement. “You made this?”

 

Shuri nodded. “Indeed, I did.”

 

“You have to show me your research and the process you went through to come up with this.” He poked at it again. “So cool.”

 

“But first,” Shuri began. “I will show you to the room you’ll be staying in.”

 

Tony frowned and shook his head. “No, we need to think of a plan to—“

 

Shuri interjected him. “You can think of it tomorrow. Rest is what everyone needs right now.”

 

\---

 

Tony slowly peeled off the shirt he had on for the last twelve hours and gasped when he extended his left arm outwards. Pepper came out from the bathroom and watched him wince and hiss in pain as he peeled his shirt off from around his arm.

 

He discarded it onto the ground and grabbed a clean white shirt off the bed. He was about to pull it over his head when Pepper put her hands on his biceps and lowered them. She grabbed his left hand and slowly pulled it through the sleeve, and then did the same to his right. She pulled the hem of his shirt down and patted it gently.

 

“Thank you,” he murmured.

 

She leaned in and softly pressed her lips against his. “You should get some rest.”

 

He ignored her and leaned towards her, and kissed her. He was trying to drown himself in her presence and the warmth of her lips. Hours ago, he thought she was gone, and now all he wanted to do was cement the fact that she was still alive and within arm’s reach.

 

He pulled her flush against his body as they continued to kiss.

 

She pulled away briefly. “Tony,” she gasped.

 

“Please…” he begged her and kissed her again. “…I don’t want to lose you.”

 

“I’m right here,” she replied as she pulled away from him.

 

“When I thought you were gone, I regretted not telling you how much I loved you and how much you mean to me. I know I’m a handful, Pep. I know how difficult I can be, and out of all the people in the world, I’m glad you stuck by my side and toughed it out.” He paused and furrowed his eyebrows. “I’m not… exactly sure how you did it.”

 

“Years of practice and patience,” she admitted with a warm smile. “You don’t need to tell me, Tony. I know you have your own way of expressing your feelings.”

 

His eyes lit up. “See, you understand me.”

 

She widened her smile and stared at the middle of his chest where the detachable arc reactor would have been. “I love you, Tony.” She tried not to tear up. “I love you so much. Whatever happens next… please… promise you’ll come back to me in one piece.”

 

His smile slowly turned into a frown. “I promise, Pepper.” He hugged her, and buried his face in between her neck and shoulder. “I promise.”

**Author's Note:**

> i love you guys <3
> 
> Thanks for reading and I hope you have a fantastic day/evening!
> 
> I'm always available to discuss Pepperony, Satan or not! :)
> 
> tripnskip @ tumblr


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